Automotive manufacturers in the UK have announced production suspensions after measures taken by European governments to restrict the spread of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus pandemic led to a series of closures among other carmakers, creating problems that affect the supply chain and manufacturing.
Ford UK
United States-based Ford will bring forward scheduled summer shutdowns at its UK operations in Dagenham, England, and Bridgend, Wales, to halt the spread of Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, the company announced on Friday March 20.
The Dagenham plant was to cease all operations on March 23 while the Bridgend plant, 20 miles west of Wales' capital city, Cardiff, was scheduled to close on March 25. Both will remain closed for a four-week period.
In June 2019, Ford had announced its intention to end operations at its Bridgend plant in September 2020 because of poor car sales.
But while operations at the plant have now been suspended, among the latest in a series of European carmaker shutdowns due to the economic pressures caused by the pandemic, the ultimate fate of the plant in Wales was not clear.
The Bridgend plant manufactures engines for Ford's own-brand cars...